Delighted to be back: Trial marks Bulldogs' return to Belmore

AFTER a 14-year absence, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will return to their spiritual home where they take to the field at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday.

The pre-season trial match against the Sydney Roosters follows the Bulldogs' moving their football and administrative base back to Belmore in October last year, follwing the completion of a $9 million revamp at the site.

Although the Bulldogs are contracted to play their NRL home games at ANZ Stadium until 2015, captain Michael Ennis said he hoped Sunday's trial game would be the first of many fixtures at Belmore.

"We've certainly built a really good base at ANZ, and the way rugby league is these days you've got to appreciate the commercial side of the game," he said.

"We get good crowds at ANZ and it's a fantastic place to play, but you'd like to think in the future that we'll be playing some fixtures here."

The community group Back to Belmore was formed in 2005 to bring sport back to Belmore.

President Luke Brailey said Sunday's game would be a "wondrous event that many thought was impossible to achieve".

Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg said as of last Friday, more than 7000 of the 10,000 seats available for the Belmore trial game had been sold.

The Bulldogs' first premiership match was played at Belmore in 1936.

MAIN EVENT

What: The Bulldogs return to Belmore Sports Ground for a pre-season clash against the Sydney Roosters.

History: It's the club's first game at Belmore since 1998

Gates open: At 9.45am. Harold Matthews Cup at 10am and the main game at 5pm